UPDATES & ANALYSIS

4.24

Judge Jane Kelly

by Ryan Koopmans | April 24, 2013

By Ryan Koopmans

By a vote of 96-0, the Senate has confirmed Jane Kelly to serve as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Kelly, a federal public defender from Cedar Rapids, sailed through the confirmation process.  President Obama, a law school classmate of Kelly’s, nominated her on January 31, and the Senate Judiciary Committee approved that nomination by voice vote on March 22.  Her confirmation today sets a speed record for a President Obama circuit-court nominee.

Kelly graduated from Harvard Law School in 1991.  She then clerked successively for South Dakota Federal Judge Donald Porter and Eighth Circuit Judge David Hansen.  From 1993-1994, she taught at the University of Illinois College of law, and since 1994 she’s worked as an assistant federal public defender in Cedar Rapids.

For more on Kelly and her sprint through the Senate, see this post by Todd Ruger at the Blog of LegalTimes.

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